Dancenorth Australia, Lucy Guerin Inc, Gideon Obarzanek & Senyawa

Attractor

This supremely rousing show begins with two musicians and eight dancers onstage. Indonesian duo Senyawa plays operatic, heavy metal-inflected music spiced with ritual and folk idioms from their native country. Choreographers Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek work with Dancenorth Australia and the band to create one wild experience: as the music builds in power, the dancers increase their abandon and pre-selected members of the audience join in. By the climax of the show, they’re all moving in an atavistic frenzy.

The artists call their creation a “secular ritual,” and that’s a perfect way to describe the driving rhythms, ecstatic movement and immersion in the moment that characterize it. There’s an infectious power to Attractor—it leads the audience toward commitment and surrender without imposing dogma of any kind. Spanning cultures and fostering unity, the performance offers the gifts of beautiful art and extreme catharsis.